Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi, a Lean Program Manager at Volvo Penta, shares her insights on lean product development and the importance of communication, continuous learning, and improvement in organizational change management. She emphasizes that failures are natural and learning from them is crucial for success, along with a focus on knowledge-driven decision-making and coaching leadership. The presentation outlines key improvement areas in R&D and the need for a cultural change to enhance collaboration and efficiency within the organization.

1. Move to Sweden 2004
Live in Gothenburg
Azadeh
Fazl Mashhadi
Born in Tehran Lean Program Manager
Volvo Penta Product Dev. 32 years old
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 1

2. - Volvo 3P- Operational Development (Robust Engineering) 2005-
2008
- Industrial PhD- Operational Development 2007-2013
- Volvo Technology- Operational Development (Lean Product
Development) 2008-2011
- Volvo Penta- Lean Program Manager (Lean PD implementation)
2011-...
What I believe about a lean PD organization:
Communication, continuous learning and improvement, fun
What I believe about Change Management:
Communication, continuous learning and improvement, fun
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 2

3. Learning Processes
Collect
facts
Determine
Standardize key
problems
Plan improvement,
Reflect
estabilish
and learn
measurements
Evaluate Implement
the result the plan
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 3

4. What’s the problem?
What’s the fact?
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 4

5. Today’s Presentation
- I will share my learning with you about lean in product
development…
- Less content
- More implementation of lean
- whatever I say is not absolute true but it is my absolute
belief
REFLECTION
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 5

6. Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 6

7. What is Lean...
“Lean is not about being slim it is about being athletic,
stronger, more muscle and less fat”
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 7

8. Failures are natural
Failures and mistakes are a natural occurrence as people and
machines bring a level of complexity to any process. It is
also natural part of product development
BUT WHEN THEY HAPPEN….
Understanding the nature of problems and potential methods
for solving them at the root is the key to success of any
organization
Learning Organization:
“Learn from failures and problems” and “Act on the learning”
to avoid the reoccurrence
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 8

9. R&D challenges
More, better
and faster
R&D
REFLECTION
Better Quality &
Customer satisfaction
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 9

10. 6+1 Improvement Areas
(Identified by assessment in product development)
1. Portfolio
Management
6. Supplier 2. Early Phases
Involvement Activities
Leadership
and Culture
5. Knowledge
3. Cross‐functional
Management &
Project Management
Problem Solving
4. Verification
and Validation
6+1 improvement areas and 24 improvement elements in total
Lean Leadership and Culture as a base
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 10

11. Operative Vision workshop
Agreement of improvement areas
for RnD30 by
all formal and informal leaders
95% agreement
Top prioritized areas!
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 11

12. RnD30 Organization
RnD30 ESC
Operational Group Divided Responsibilities Executive Team
CPM RnD30
Operational Group
Portfolio Management
Head of PM Problem Solving and
Knowledge Management
Head of PD
Working Group
Based on the Early phases activities
need in the Head of Design Test and verification
pilots Head od Test
Cross functional project management
Head of PO Supplier Involvement
Head of Purch.
REFLECTION
Culture and leadership
SVP.
- Middle management as change agents
- Networking with the rest of the Group
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 12

13. Example 1
Visual Performance Management
REFLECTION
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 13

14. Example 2
Need for culture change workshop
• All formal and informal leaders
• Examples of wrong behavior....
• Agreement on good behavior
• Understanding the gap...
• Understanding why we behave ....
Element 1: Coaching Leadership
Element 2: Driving knowledge-based decision making
Element 3: Problems as opportunity for improvements
Element 4: Willingness to cooperate with respect to others
Element 5: Managing towards consistent achievements
Element 6: Information flow and feedback
Element 7: Do things right from the beginning
Element 8: Importance of collective knowledge
Element 9: “Right from me” in commitment to deliveries
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 14

15. Element 1: Coaching Leadership
What is dominating type of Coaching and Directive and pace-
leadership? involving : ”how can I setting: ”haven’t you
help you to do” done”
What characterizes Trust Control
relationship between
employees and managers?
Leaders are coaches for employees to deliver right things, at the
right time and in the right way. Delegation requires coaching.
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 15

16. Element 2: Driving knowledge-based decision making
Knowledge-based Emotion-based
What are decisions decision decision
based on?
What is most important in
Right decision Fast decision
decision making (what do
we ask for)?
Inflexible, questioning
Is the organization responsive Flexible and fast
and slow
to direction changes when
needed?
Leaders drive knowledge-based decisions through asking probing
questions (instead of status questions) and get insight in likelihood
to achieve desired result.
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 16

17. Most common reasons of the gap
Knowledge
Priority by
and KPI management
understanding
Why we are acting and KPI drives culture Our managers are role
behaving like today models
What consequence it has
What are the alternatives
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18. Result of the culture change workshop
- Reflection time- Learning by reflection
- New type of questions by management
- Through strategic work
- Action to be taken by top management
- Action to be cascaded
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 18

19. Summary of Learning
• Improving a successful company
• Be clear why to change
• The problem definition phase
• Be clear what to change
• The focus of the initiative; tools vs. learning focus - Developing
own practices (Learn how to learn)
• Be clear how to change
• Mutual Learning and Reflection is more important than the
solutions
• Share time for mutual reflection
• The middle management role
• Be clear who to change REFLECTION
• Do it step by step- not big bang
• Be pragmatic
• It is not only methods, it is about all decision we take every day
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 19

20. What is difficult
- Engagement  make it fun
- It takes time to show result of financial KPI
- Difficult to define operational KPI
- No reference to compare
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 20

21. “My personal learning in this journey which I have tried to share
always with my colleagues is that Lean is not only about tools
and methods it is all about the daily decisions we take, how we
take them and what we based them on. Of course tools and
methods are facilitators”…
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 21

22. • Coaching Leadership- be first in the line
• Problem Solving at the root- be open
• Learning from failures and success- be
smart
• Holistic view over our plans- be pragmatic
• Long term operational focus- see horizon
Azadeh Fazl Mashhadi Slide 22